Survivors of boarding school in Saskatchewan say agreement in principle reached

Survivors of a boarding school that housed Metis and First Nations children in Saskatchewan say they’ve reached an agreement in principle with the Canadian government.

The Ile-a-la-Crosse Boarding School Steering Committee said Monday the settlement would see up to $27-million paid to survivors, along with a fund of $10-million for projects that address healing, education, language and culture.

“This is a historic step on the journey to justice and reconciliation for the school survivors,” the steering committee said in a press release.

“While the (school) survivors will likely always be haunted by their years of physical, mental and sexual abuse at the hands of school operators, they agree they can take some comfort in this acknowledgment, know their truth is finally being believed and move on.”

The committee filed a lawsuit against Ottawa and the Saskatchewan government in 2022 for the roles they played in operating the school and for allegedly breaching legal duties to care for the children.

The school operated from the 1820s until it burned down in the 1970s. Children from the Metis community of Ile-a-la-Crosse and neighbouring First Nations in northwest Saskatchewan were sent there.

Those who attended were banned from speaking their language and frequently beaten if they did so, the committee said.

“We went through hell just to get an education,” said Emile Janvier, a survivor and elder.

“No person should be treated like that it affects the children, too.”

The steering committee said it is working on drafting a final agreement. It added that claims of physical or sexual abuse aren’t included in the agreement, and that survivors can pursue those issues in the courts.

Antoinette LaFleur, a committee member who attended the school, said it’s disappointing such abuses aren’t acknowledged in the agreement.

“[The Canadian government] knows what we went through and yet not giving us what we were supposed to get,” LaFleur said.

Michelle LeClair with Metis Nation Saskatchewan added there won’t be true reconciliation or justice until the province fulfils its obligations on the file.

“After such a tumultuous journey, at least Canada has stepped forward with something. We’re relieved for our survivors and hope they can at least start the healing process,” she said.

The federal and Saskatchewan governments did not immediately provide a comment.